Double Trouble
by oneiromancer242
Summary: Fluffy little one-shot from a reader prompt, that prompt being Peter as a Dad and Erik and Magda as grandparents. This is so sweet it comes with a warning from the British Dental Association. And a language warning...


**For MargotTenser, who would like to see Peter as a father, and Erik and Magda as grandparents. I believe the words "Shamelessly sentimental" were used? You asked, you got it. Boy can I do sentiment when it's requested...**

The fight had been raging for the past forty-five minutes without pause, and Peter was just about ready to snap. He'd been staring out of the window, counting streetlights, headlamps, poodles, little old ladies and stop signs – anything, in fact to distract him from the noise in the back seat, until he'd finally got to the end of his tether and turned around in his seat yelling

"Will you two SHUT UP!"

Two stunned little faces looked up at him for a moment, then resumed fighting. He sighed, buried his face in his hands.

"Oh come on, Puppydog" Angela smiled at him calmly steered the car, "I bet you and Wanda were just the same"

"Oh no way," he scoffed, folding his arms, "We were good children, not like these little monsters WHO WILL BE DROPPED OFF AT NEAREST FOSTER HOME IF THEY DON'T SHUT UP!" he directed the last to the squabbling girls in back.

"Peter!" Angela gasped, disgusted, "Don't even joke about that!"

"It's okay Mom, Dad's full of shit"

"Rachael!"

"What?! I learned it from you!"

"I… don't use words like that" she stammered. Glanced at her husband, who was giving her a sidelong look full of wry amusement. "Not often…"

"Face it Angie. You're a gutter-mouth tramp, I'm surprised the girls didn't pop out swearing with the way you talk" he leaned into the back again, "But if you use those words in front of your Bubbe, she's gonna wash your mouths out with soap and water. Remember what I always told you?"

"It's okay as long as you don't get caught" the girls chorused in unison. Angela glared at him.

"I might swear, but at least I don't teach them lessons like that"

Peter shrugged, grinned at her charmingly,

"Are they ever in trouble?"

"No"

"Exactly. They don't get caught. That's my smart babies, right girls?"

"Moooooom…" Ruth whined, "My Tamagochi died again!"

Angela tutted, took a hand off the wheel and reached in back, feeling the little plastic bubble pressed into her palm. She grimaced, it felt sticky. A little spark and the thing started bleeping cheerily again.

"Thanks Mom!" the girl beamed, "You're the best!"

"She is, isn't she? Why don't you thank your Mom for being so great by shutting the hell up for ten minutes so we can drive in peace, okay?" Peter grinned in a strained way at the girls in the rear-view mirror.

"Whose idea was it to have kids?" he muttered at his wife. She reached briefly to squeeze his thigh, offered him a broad smile

"Nobody's honey. Except maybe Mr Jack Daniel's."

"Oh, right… I remember now"

"No you don't, you were so hammered you didn't know your right from your left"

"I don't know that sober"

"And that's why I'm driving" she said sweetly. "Besides, we'd probably only have had one to contend with if it wasn't yours. Twins don't run in my family. So the double trouble is really all your fault"

Finally, they pulled up outside the house and the twins immediately erupted into noisy cheers. Peter pinched the bridge of his nose where a huge headache was starting to form. He was sure he hadn't been that noisy as a child, was sure in fact that kids had been fitted with amplifiers since his day. Out of the car in a heartbeat and opening the door for Ruth and Rachael to scamper up the drive and begin hammering on his mother's door. He opened Angela's door too, slipped an arm around her, gave her a harried look.

"You wouldn't change them for the world" she told him, kissed the tip of his nose and led him up to join the girls. As soon as Magda opened the door they were on her with affectionate kisses and cuddles, receiving both in equal measure in return before running past her into the house. She straightened, winced, her back was troubling her a little these days, and turned to greet her son and daughter-in-law.

"You look beautiful," she told Angela, kissed her on both cheeks. Gathered her son up in a hug and squeezed him til he wheezed. Damn, but she had strength for an old lady, "And you look skinny. Come in, both of you, come on I don't have all day"

Angela laughed, pulled her husband after her. Magda was getting more like him with her impatience and snarkiness by the year, and it always amused her. There were more photographs in the hallway now – Angela noticed one of Lorna in shorts and an unflattering khaki hat, grinning and sweaty amongst a sea of other equally perspiring faces. Her latest expedition, no doubt. Their wedding photograph was there, Peter looking wonderfully handsome in a grey morning suit, Angela in an understated silver dress, Wanda and Lorna looking enormously proud and happy in matching gold satin beside them. He didn't seem to have aged a day since that picture was taken. The twins, of course, clean and presentable for once on a photoshoot they had arranged specifically to have a decent picture for the grandparents. Emerging into the living room, Angela stopped dead for a moment in shock.

"Oh… Mr Lensherr… what a…"

"Hey Dad" Peter grinned, moving in to give his father a tight, fond hug, "She didn't know you were coming, excuse her dumbness"

Erik regarded her with amusement from under thick, bushy white eyebrows. Grunted, and hauled himself up from his chair to embrace her.

"It's good to see you too, Angela" he said, "And I thought we agreed you'd call me Erik?"

"Yeah, we … did we? Was I drunk?"

"Very"

"That explains it"

Finishing their lap around the house, Ruth and Rachael crashed into the living room, swerved around their Grandmother, and finished sprawled on top of each other on their Grandfather's lap. Rachael punched her sister in the shoulder

"Me first!" she squalled. Her sister punched her back

"Me! I'm the oldest, I get first hugs!"

"Children, please! There's plenty to go around" Erik easily picked them up one in each arm and set them on his knees. Magda grinned at him, set the tray she was carrying down on the table and lowered herself into a seat.

"Help yourselves, please" she said, settled back into her chair and cast a fond eye on Erik with the two girls in his lap, each chattering away in an ear rapidly. He couldn't possibly be listening to them both, but he was doing a fine impression of doing so. Angela looked between them suspiciously, wondered what was going on that the two of them were getting on so well these days. Poured them all some tea and handed the cups round.

"I'll skip the cake if you don't mind, Mom" Peter said, taking his cup with a smile, "I'm on a diet" She stared at him with blank horror for a moment, before he caved and laughed at her. "Your face, seriously. It was so worth it. Gimme the cake, I mean like yesterday"

"Thanks so much for taking the girls tonight, Magda," Angela beamed at her mother-in-law, cut the delicious home-baked cake into equal pieces. Wondered how Magda always baked exactly enough to go round, "I can't tell you how much we appreciate it. We've not been out together in so long"

"It's a pleasure honey. Those girls are my little treasures!" she gave Peter a fond look, "They remind me of you a bit"

"Me and Wanda, surely?"

"No. Just you." she smiled, sipped her tea, "Noisy, running about like mad things, forever in the cookie jar. Wanda wasn't like that"

"How's work, Peter?" Erik asked, letting the girls wriggle down off his lap and rubbing his arthritic knees

"Oh y'know – awesome, as always"

"Tell him about the new class"

"Oh yeah! We're taking on a tae-kwon-doh instructor next month. So we can offer that now too. It's pretty exciting. I'm gonna learn myself, looks like fun"

It had been nearly five years now since Peter had started the wing of the Academy solely dedicated to the athletic side of the students' development, and Erik didn't think he'd ever been happier since then. With his enormous energy, running about to get the classes organised was easy, and he still always had time to coach the kids and make sure that they understood that this was about their mind and much as their body. Last year he'd even had the pleasure of receiving a little speedster into his gymnasium, and under his tutelage the girl had gained so much focus and control that at only ten years old she was already a formidable force to be reckoned with. In fact, now that he was getting towards his mid-forties she could almost outpace him – almost, but not quite. That day would come though, and Erik knew that when it did Peter would be proud of her, rather than resenting his own age catching up with him.

"Do you still teach the dance classes?" Magda asked his wife, she nodded, then shook her head, confusing them both

"Kind of... I do a couple a week. The girls take a lot of my time now, you know?"

"Surely Peter is taking his fair share of the childminding?" She gave her son a hard look, and Angela quickly jumped to his rescue

"Of course! It's me, being a possessive Mom, not him at all! I'm sure if I asked you'd be totally willing, wouldn't you Puppydog?"

"No way dude, those kids are way harder work than a circuit class" he grinned cheekily, rewarded with a sharp elbow in the ribs. "How's the Mutant Rights biz?"

"Slow. Painful. Humans can be such dull creatures," Magda cleared her throat pointedly, "With obvious exceptions of course. The opposition to the Registration Act has gone through nicely though, thanks to some friends in high places"

"That's good to know" Angela said, smiled genuinely at him

"So the girls…?"

"Human as far as we can tell" she said, watched her two hyperactive children with a weary eye and wondered how true that was, "But we don't know – the X gene works in mysterious ways after all, they might just not be showing it yet"

Erik looked at them – two identical little heads of coppery hair, hazel eyes, chubby fingers and ankles. Healthy, normal, happy little children. They had their mother's slightly pointed nose and their father's smile, but for now neither showed any sign of mutation. He'd never have admitted it, but he didn't really care if the twins carried the X gene or not. They were his beautiful little granddaughters, and he loved them fiercely.

They had talked a while longer, before with more hugs they had parted, Angela saying to her daughters before she kissed them goodnight

"No Twinkies before bed. You know how you get"

"Dad eats Twinkies before bed"

"Dad has a cake problem. You don't need any more energy. Behave yourselves for your Bubbe and Zaide, or there'll be trouble. You hear me?"

"Yes Mom" they chorused. Angela hated it when they talked in unison like that, it creeped her out. Sadly, the twins knew that and did it all the more. She gave them a last fond hug goodnight and left them with Magda. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air outside and walking arm in arm with her husband for a little way before she said

"You hear that?"

"No… what?"

"That's the sound of no kids"

Peter listened, sighed happily, put an arm around her shoulders

"That's a good sound" he said. Paused a moment, then went on "So can I?"

"Puppydog, you know I hate it…"

"Awwww C'mon! It been ages!"

Angela blew air between her lips impatiently, but smiled as she stopped and held her arms on to him.

"Go on then" she said kindly, "Just this once"

He kissed her gently, then scooped her up and sped with her in his arms all the way to the door of the club.


End file.
